Elementum
by alex'hawthorn'potter
Summary: a new power has surfaced that many wizards and witches of the magical world have tried to avoid. with this new kind of power, a new kind of evil had followed. one minute Fern's life was normal, until the day she chose her fate. her 15th birthday. in this adventure alongside harry potter, Fern will relive his Harry's past, leading to something she would never even dream of.
1. chapter 1: a mother's love

**chapter 1**

**a mother's love**

A Mother's love is something  
that no one can explain,  
It is made of deep devotion  
and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish  
and enduring come what may  
For nothing can destroy it  
or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving  
when all others are forsaking,  
And it never fails or falters  
even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing  
when the world around condemns,  
And it glows with all the beauty  
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

_some of 'A mother's love' by Helen Stiener Rice_

The sky was dark, the night surprisingly warm. Her heart echoed the feeling of the electric atmosphere. She was in love. She held of tight to her husband's freckly arm and felt the passionate goose-bumps tear up her body. She gave a side-ways look to the little bundle of periwinkle blue in the back of the car (she hated pink). She could almost feel the gravitational pull coming from the tiny ball behind her. She was so happy and nothing was going to get in the way of her new world. She had been so restricted in the stuffy muggle hospital for so long and now she felt so free.

Nothing, nothing would stand in her way.

"we're nearly home", the man sat next to her, currently in the driver's seat, grumbled. Although many people would interpret it wrongly, but she knew him all too well, and he was just tired. It had been a long night for both of them. Their small, average home stood out at her from all of the rest on their street. This was her home, her life, centre of all goodness. She understood why muggles lived like this.

their lives had been destroyed by evil. The witch and wizard they used to be were gone, now all that remained were their tiny little lives, the three of them. they were no longer special, no longer different. even though she missed the world of magic, she knew that this new kind of power wasn't right for a baby to grow up in. she was smart and had had enough experience of evil in the magic world, and with that came trouble. she wanted her daughter to become a witch, but at the right time. no doubt this new kind of magic would fade into the background and order would be restored. until that happened, she wanted her daughter to grow up as a muggle, just like she had. and when the time was right to introduce her to the world of magic, she hoped she would be there when the two worlds met for her little girl.

she stared at their little home. it was a semi-detached house on a little estate, fern close. their house was small and average, but very pretty and cozy. she wanted to keep out of the way while she lived in the muggle world with her husband and brand new baby, lay low for a while. she knew that one day, if she didn't tell her daughter about magic, the magic would come to her. she didn't want that, purely because it only leads to bad things. her friend had taught her that.

as they pulled into the estate, she stared at the sign for 'fern close'. there was something about it, something she liked. then she realized that she quite liked fern as a name. she and her husband liked Rose, Asher and Evanna but weren't sure what to call their baby girl, officially. there were so many names now, she didn't know what to do. but fern felt... right. almost like one piece in a puzzle. but she remembered that they all felt like that, and decided to cast it out of her mind, but she couldn't help feeling like this was a sign.

the car pulled into the stony drive, the gravel making a crunching sound under the tires. she opened her door and got her sweet baby daughter from the back seat. her husband let her in and she marched straight upstairs into the nursery. her baby was asleep and she put her in the little cot her husband had put together a couple weeks ago. she looked around the yellow, bee themed room and tears formed in her eyes. she turned the light off and switched on the baby monitor and left the room, going into her own and placing the other monitor by her bed. she sat beside it, listening to her baby's soft breathing. what would she call her daughter? she wanted it to be perfect.. but she needed to let the hospital know. her and her husband would decide tomorrow.

she got up and went into the bathroom, feeling a sense of dread because of leaving the monitor. it was only to brush her teeth before bed, she would be five minutes at most. she quickly brushed her teeth and went back to check the baby monitor. everything was fine, her baby was breathing and wasn't crying. feeling satisfied after she had heard her daughter's breathing, she decided to let herself have a bath.

she got back up from the bed, watching the green lights go up and down slightly, indicating the small amount of noise her daughter made while breathing. she opened the door and stepped into the bathroom. she stared at the monitor until the door was fully closed. she didn't lock the door. she walked over to the bath and switched on the hot water tap. she listened to the water running and it made her feel drowsy. she sat on the edge of the bath until it was full. when she turned the tap off, silence rang throughout the whole house. her husband had gone back to the hospital after realizing he had left his wallet there, and her baby was fast asleep. she stepped into the steamy bath, her whole body aching.

she lay there for much longer than she had wished. half an hour had passed. when she realized the time, she quickly got out of the bath. she immediately felt the cool air of autumn over every inch of her body. she wrapped the fluffy white towel around herself and unlocked the door. she paused. she didn't remember locking the door, she thought she had left it open. she convinced herself that she must have, she was known for being forgetful. she stepped into the room, grabbed a pair of pajamas from her drawer, and dried her self off. once she was dry she slipped her silky top and trousers on and sat on her bed. she grabbed her phone from her husband's side of the bed and realized her husband had left his behind. she sighed, he was always forgetting his phone.

she sat back on the bottom of her bed and flipped up her phone. she dialed her friends number and heard the tone meaning it was ringing. it took two rings until her friend picked up.

"hey Lynda! im back from the hospital! just had a bath." she sung down the phone

"oh! hey sweetie! how are you? are you sore? so tell me everything! boy, girl? whats its name?!" Lynda asked in the highest-pitched voice she could.

"oh, im fine, just a little tired. its a girl but we don't have a name yet. we have to let the hospital know by tomorr-" she was cut off by a large bang. she whirled round and looked at the baby monitor. it showed red. she felt sick. "Lynda, i'm scared"

"w-whats wrong sweetie? hun? you there?"

she paused and replied "i-i'm here, something's set the baby monitor off. Lynda what should i do?"

"hang on two minutes, i will be right round." the phone went dead. She knew Lynda wouldn't be there for another half hour.

she stared at the lights. it showed green now, only the breathing was registering. she walked round to the monitor and held it up to her ear. _in, out. in, out. in, out. in, out. in, out. in-_

the breathing was suddenly punctured but an ugly, croaky, deep voice. the whole of her body filled with fear, turning hot with dread. it chanted:

_fire, earth, wind and water,_

_your fate lies with no other._

_let me give you the help you need,_

_with this element you will succeed._

_i give you the gift of fire only,_

_follow me, you'll never be lonely._

_15 years you will be granted,  
_

_on that day it will be decided.  
_

she could not listen to any more, she had to protect her daughter. she knew who the man was, the single person she had vowed herself to keep away from her daughter. body forced her up, she ran faster across the landing than humanly possible. she would not let her new born baby be taken into evil. she would not let harm come to her baby girl. she knew this would mean death, but as long as she protects her baby, she would rather. she reached the door, slightly open, light pouring out of the crack. she didn't hesitate. she shoved the door as hard as she could and let it crash off the wall. her nightmare had been confirmed.

there stood a dark, clothed fugure. it must have been at least 7 feet tall. he was still chanting, but she didn't listen. she stood there in horror as he laughed in acknowledgement of her tiny presence.

"you leave my daughter alone, get the fuck off her!" she shouted at the laughing monster. everything seemed so loud. there was the sound of crackling fire that surrounded the room. she ran towards the figure. he stuck out his hand with out moving the rest of his body and she flew backwards and crashed off the wall. her back felt like it was broken but she still got up, determined to save her little girl. her daughter wailed in the tiny cot. she knew who he was, the most evil man of all the magical world, his darkness morphing is anatomy, into a half human, half beast. she ran up to him and rugby tackled his massive body. the sheer power of this knocked him onto the ground. she started to kick and punch him in every way she could until he flung her again like a china doll against the ceiling and she fell to the ground.

he let out a menacing laugh and the lights went out. she screamed and ran to get the baby out of the cot. the small amount of moonlight leaking through the window allowed her to see slightly. where had he gone? she sprinted out of the room, and ran down the stairs. she kissed her daughter as many times as she could as she entered the kitchen and grabbed a knife. she knew her husband wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes. she sat begind the counter and kept as quiet as she could. she saw the periwinkle blue blanket that her daughter was wrapped up in on the way back from the hospital. she wrapped the baby up in it and placed her on the floor.

"i will be back, i promise." she kissed her and turned around.

she tip-toed through the door, into the large dining room. the house stank of silence. the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat. after checking the it was okay to do so, she stalked through the thick darkness into the living area. she looked around the room. nothing. she turned and went up the stairs and checked her bedroom first and after finding nothing, she checked her daughters nursery. she stepped in and looked about the tiny room. already it smelled of her daughter. almost like fresh leaves. it made her heart race. she listened. the silence made her even more scared. just as she was about to move, she heard her daughter crying. the night had gotten so dark, she could barely see a thing. she sprinted down the steps to once again save her daughter.

she got to the bottom of the stairs. she tip-toed towards the kitchen door. she could hear her daughter crying and started moving faster. knife poised, she edged closer to the door, the screeches getting louder. her body ached due to the sheer force of her pulse. she entered the door. a shadowy figure stood in the middle of the kitchen. her daughter was still under the counter. a wave of relief passed through her and she had to stop her self from letting out her breath. she walked passed her baby ever so slowly. she came around the counter, closer to the figure. she was about to speak until she was cut off with a blinding light.

"hun, whats going on?" her husband stared at the knife in her hand. he looked horrified. she hugged him and let out a small wimper.

"he's here. he's here. he nearly took her. i-i-"

"who's here?! where? your not making any sense."

"you know, him. the dark one. i heard him chanting to our daughter on the baby monitor. i tried to kill him but he just vanished. i don't know where he is, he cou-" they both stopped to listen. sinister whispers and laughter circled them. the crying had stopped. the familiar sound of fire had surrounded them. she didn't dare move. she could see her baby, she was fine. they looked for the source of the noises. nothing. the crackling got louder, the whispers more clear. _"he's gonna getcha" "better watch out... muggles"_

the all too familiar chuckle rang in the air. the sound of wood burning filled the room. they turned towards the door of the kitchen. and there he was. laughing. chuckling. he was enjoying every moment of it. she looked at her baby, she was behind the counter, she'd be fine. she drew her wand from the kitchen draw and narrowed her eyes. she knew she shouldn't, but it would be the only curse that would work. "Avada Kadavra!" the words ricochet off the walls, as he cast a stream of fire from his hand. both spells met and crashed off each other, exploding, sizzling, lighting the whole room.

her whole body was against what she was doing, but she looked at the tiny ball of periwinkle blue and the spell seemed to grow. she cried and cried, shouting, screaming, anything she could to make the spell the stronger. the force was throwing her off. her body ached, the fire nearly reaching her. she knew she would die. but she couldn't. for her little girl, for her husband. for her friends she would never say bye too. she forced harder and her curse exploded. it sent sparks all over the room. she was creating a fire of her own. everything she loved depended on her. she nearly had killed him. his laughter ringing in her head. she screamed in agony as her body nearly collapsed. she couldn't hold it. every single fiber was screaming at her to stop. but she couldn't. she wouldn't. she would do it for her daughter, she didn't want to

just as she nearly had finished it, the back door opened and threw her off concentration. the stream of green death had vanished. everything seemed to move in slow motion. her friend stood in shock, screaming in horror that she was about to witness her friend dying. the stream of fire exploded and they were all thrown backwards. she hit off the window, her husband off the counter. she could feel the glass in her back. she watched as her husband was immersed with fire and she screamed his name. he was dead. she loved him so much and he was dead. she landed of the floor near to his body started to cry. her body shook every time she sobbed. her world was gone, and not she was dying too. her husband was dead. how could she not have protected him? it was all her fault. she felt empty. part of her wanted to die right next to her husband, the part of her that would put him first. the only rhing that kept her alive was for her daughter. she looked over to her sweet new-born child. she had let her down. her body felt like it was being struck with a whip every time a tear streamed down her face. she could feel her heart beat slowing, her fingers numbing. she had to do this, for her daughter and her husband. she had to fight to the end.

she watched the the most evil man with hatred that filled every inch of her broken and hollow body. she limply reached for the knife that she had held earlier in the fight to save her daughter. with all her energy, she threw the knife at him, aiming for the heart. her wand had been blasted into a million pieces, just like her heart. this was her only hope. just as it was about the reach him, he began to dissaperate. the whipping sound was mixed with a cry of pain, then suddenly the room fell into silence. she was dying, he had killed her husband and had left her daughter parent-less. she thought it was quite ironic that no matter how many years of wizardry training she had religiously taken, her final minutes had been used, using a muggle object to revenge her husbands death.

her friend ran over to her. she couldn't hear anything from the blast. she was slipping away.

"call her Fern." she remembered why the sign was so significant. at the time she didn't know why, but she had to give her daughter a sign.

"what, what?! sweetie what?" she could just make out what her friend was screaming. the whole room was covered in flames.

"call her Fern. Fern Evanna Asher Rose. take care of her, please. tell her about me when the time is right, tell her everythin-" she just managed to tell her friend this before she used all of her life and slipped away knowing everything would be okay. everything was okay around Lynda. she had met her after becoming a muggle. she was her only friend.

"o-okay. no, sweetie please don't die. H! H!" her friend cried for about a minute. then she wiped her eyes, straightened her dress and looked over to fern. she ran over to her noticing the flames for the first time and scooped her up. she ran out of the back door, comforted fern and got into the car. she drove away without a backward glance. she was crying enough already. she vowed to herself to keep fern safe, raise her, and when the time is right, let her explore the world and beyond for her best friend.


	2. Chapter 2: choice

**chapter 2  
**

**choice**

A single knock on the door made her wake up with a huge jolt.

"C'mon sweetie, time to get up", her mother cooed from outside her door. Instantly she felt safer in the haziness of her initial wake. The smell of pancakes filled the air and made her go slightly more light-headed. She loved her mother's pancakes on a Saturday morning. Then it hit her.

It was her 15th birthday.

Suddenly, her mother came lightly barging into her bright blue bedroom with a big blue cake with a blue butterfly on the top, singing happy birthday sweetly, "happy birthday Fern Evanna Asher Reynalds." A confused smile stretched across Fern's face, while watching her mother with loving eyes. "I know you don't like pink, so I made the butterfly blue." It was true, he hated pink. She always had, always will. It was funny, because her mother loved pink and always used to paint 's fern's bedroom the brightest shade of pink possible. Now she had it blue, calming, soothing, and cooling. She loved blue and she seemed to be constantly drawn to it.

"thanks mum… you finally got me a cake without pink splashed all over it!" to this her mum gave her a sarcastic look,

"well ever since you refused to eat any of the cake I got you last year because it had a pink bow on the top of the 'E', I decided to keep it blue. Fern giggled at the remembrance of this and flashed her mum an apologetic look. Her mum kissed her softly on the cheek and told her she would leave her to get changed for school. her mother left the room, the knot in her stomach loosened and her heart beat slowed. Her eyes scanned the room for something that could have caused the uneasy feeling. Nothing. She pulled her reeling head from her warm, fluffy pillow, feeling like she had a ton weight secured to her chest. What was the uneasy feeling? Why had it come so suddenly? Why today? She threw the thoughts from her head and stopped it from spoiling her day.

Soon Fern was pulling on her black skinny jeans, oversized blue top and dirty, ripped, black converse. Fern was simple, maybe even tom-boyish, she didnt care what people thought of her. Fern scapred up her hair into a loose pony-tail, not caring about the bits she had missed or sticking out. her extremely long hair still reached her bum, its elegant, radiant waves of strawberry-blonde allowed her to style her hair anyway she wanted and still looking stylish but casual. she hated her hair long, she always wanted to cut it really short, she wasnt a very girly person, but that was one of the very few things her mother insisted upon. she was quite a calm, non-caring person but did have a firey rage when she wanted too. Fern always wondered where she got that From considering her polite mother never shouted. her mother was a very proud woman, very different from Fern. there were many differences between them. still, Fern loved her mother, even if she did find it hard sometimes.

she walked into the bathroom. she looked into the mirror, holding onto the sink with both hands... almost like she was about to collapse. she loved her mother, and always will, but why was she getting this uneasy feeling when she was around her? not knowing what she would do, she filled her cupped hands with cool, fresh water from the tap and splashed it up to her face. the feeling of all of her stresses swirling down the plughole felt good. she looked back up into the mirror, her dark and deep blue eyes shining bright. they looked different today. almost like they were more alive, brighter. they looked like pools of silky blue water. she felt so good today, and she wasn't going to let some stupid thing about her mother get to her. she was probably just hungry. She liked to convince herself.

She ran downstairs and was greeted with a big slab of cake, which she not-so-gracefully accepted, and a white, fake smile. She ate the cake then received her pancakes. something caught Fern's eye.

"mum, whats that on your arm?" Fern asked, her eyebrows knitted together. her mother's face went white. she stared at Fern then looked to the floor. she bit her lip. tears welled in her eyes.

"oh, thats-thats nothing. it's just a silly burn, sweetie." this seemed to make her even more upset and tears streamed down her face.

"mum. mum, are you okay?"

"yeah i'm fine!

"Fern you do eat a lot!", she seemed to try and change the subject. Fern smirked. another thing that she did not have in common with her mother. Fern thought this just as she ate the last bite of her one biscuit of weetabix and milk. "i'll be back in a second swe- Fern," why didn't she want to say 'sweetie'? "just one tick."

her mother left through the kitchen door, and Fern followed. her mother went into the living room and fern could hear her dialing a number on her phone. "hello? hello? yes, erm... i- i don't know what to do." she paused a little while. "she saw it. yes, my burn. i don't know what to tell her." Fern heard her mother let out a small sob. "i don't want her to leave me, and go _there._" Fern sneezed and her mother instantly stopped talking. "i'll have to go". her mother put the phone down and sniffed slightly. fern went into the room.

"i need to go now mum, love you" she pretended she didn't hear a word.

"ohhh, love you too baby." her mother kissed her on the cheek.

she left the house. the door slammed behind her. for some reason she felt relieved. what was that phone call all about? 'i don't want her to leave me', why would Fern be leaving her over a burn on her arm? and where was she talking about? why was she getting a bad vibe about her mother? this she did not know, but it was her birthday and it wouldn't spoil her day. she forgot about the whole thing.

The short, regular walk to her near-by private secondary school allowed Fern to think about everything that had just happened. yes, she went to a private school. her mother insisted that she moved there after being bullied in her first year when she went to a public school ten minutes down the road. Fern loved it here now. She took in the damp, morning air through her nostrils. She felt the cold sting her nose- but it felt nice. The autumn leaves scattered on the ground, moving up into the air where she walked, dancing in the wind. The birds sang from the towering trees and uplifted Fern's mood.

It was her birthday. Her loving mother gave her a birthday cake and her infamous pancakes. And yet, she had an uneasy feeling that just didn't sit right. Before she could ponder anymore she was walking into the noisy jungle, away from the dreary land of autumn leaves and over thinking. she looked round her before seeing the gate that meant she would be on her school grounds. Today felt weird, and Fern knew this wasn't the end.

When she walked through the large rusty gates she felt a rough gust of wind slam on her back, forcing her forward into a nearby student. "Watch do you think your doing, stupid little freak". she replied with a mumbled apology and walked off with her head down. she turned around purely because she felt as if she was being watched, feeling silly fore doing so because it was only the wind. That's what she told herself anyway. Even after convincing herself that it was nothing and she was overreacting, she still walked faster and looked around her to make sure no one had seen her, for she knew that she probably looked like a psycho. she caught a glimpse of the large, Gothic girl she had bumped into seconds before and was smart enough to not look the beast in the eyes.

when she got into the bland yet bulging corridor the familiar smell of sweaty teenage bodies mixed with the natural fresh air of an English autumn. The plain colours of pale blue and cream of the floor and walls was contradicted by the bright fashion statements of over 1000 students crammed into one small corridor. she could feel the warmth of the bodies surrounding her and the roar of noise caused fern to wince under its volume. she could sense that danger was walking a long side her, the feeling of someone watching her returned from when the wind assaulted her outside. she convinced herself it was just the haze of noise and colour making her feel nauseous. schools were meant to be known for their safety, but for some reason she felt more on the edge than she ever had done before. but she would forget about it, for it was her 15th birthday- and she would chose what to do on her special day.


	3. Chapter 3: shadows

**chapter 3  
**

**shadows**

the school bell rang and, carrying her many books, fern set off to get to her first lesson. her feet pounded hard against the cold floor under the weight. the corridor seemed grim. Almost like the colour of Fern's surroundings had be drained away. She carried on walking, feeling the last fragile drabs of happiness ebb away with every thundering pound of her feet. the corridor suddenly felt silent and a whip of air seemed to almost clasp around Fern's throat, knocking the air out of her. just like by the gate. air seemed to whirl around her, the other students not even noticing there was something wrong. she continued walking, feeling like every bad memory, feeling, thought was being resurfaced in her mind. she needed somewhere to go. then she saw it. a big, red door nearly shone in the dull surrounds and Fern ran for the handle. she grasped the cold, shiny metal with difficulty, and slowly edged it open- the energy draining from her. her peers still walked past as if nothing was wrong. why was no one helping her? she finally managed to open it.

she leaned all of her body weight to open the door and she flung herself on the floor. the air was so thin. she grabbed her throat in desperate need and gasped for air. Her body flopped like a fish on the floor. she suddenly felt a rush of air surging her upwards and she was soon floating near the ceiling. It was getting impossible, she could feel her body ache from trying.

then suddenly everything stopped and she fell to the ground. She opened her eyes and what she saw filled her with horror, dread, sickness. it was her worst nightmare, her worst memory. only she knew about it. how could this be happening, what was going on? she nearly passed out.

she felt the heat burn her skin and it radiated from the room. Fern opened her eyes and saw the room alight with orange flames, bellows of black smoke punching her in the face, chocking her even more. the smell of burning wood pieced her nose. this was her worst nightmare, the thing she hated the most, her one true enemy. fire. her shaking body jumped on its feet before her brain could tell it not too. she looked around the room and let out a ear-splitting shriek. she tried to move her feet but the fire was all around her. she wouldn't stop chocking, black fists of smoke bruising her. she panicked and threw her hands to her eyes and began to sob and choke. she realized that she was getting drenched. how could her tears make her so wet?

she looked through blurry, watery eyes at her charred hands. they were casting a stream of crystal water out from every particle of her palm. scared, confused and shocked, she turned her hands away from her face as fast as she could and chocked on the water she had inhaled from such a shock. the water flow would not stop. her body felt alive and she felt like she was letting something go that she had been hiding for so many years. her body pumped with adrenaline and with it so did the water flow from her hands. she didnt know what to do, she felt so alive but scared at the same time, she didnt know what was happening. how could this be possible?

before she could think about it anymore she was suddenly moving her arms and hands in swift, fast, tricky motions. the waterfall coming from her hands stopped but something else was happening. she was moving water in big, crashing waves. wherever her hands went, the water followed, bellowing off the burnt walls, splashing all over the room... putting out the flames. she moved her hands from the direction of the floor to above her head. a huge wave of water drew up from the floor, nearly reaching the ceiling. it towered over Fern and she didnt feel one bit scared, she felt in control. she moved her hands apart from each other and the wave widened, still stationary, it almost looked like the wave was being held back by something. Fern was amazed but felt totally natural. a small, one-sided smile stretched over face. she let go of the huge wall of water.

the wave came crashing down five meters away from Fern. she stood her ground and watched for a second longer. she suddenly thrust out her hands in the direction of the wave and an invisible dome seemed to guard her from the raging force of the wave. she looked in amazement at the wave running over her. she once again raised her arms and the water followed, this time forming a wall in a sort of cylinder around Fern. she was having so much fun. she moved her arms in a circular motion and the water turned into a raging twister, sucking in more and more water coming from no where. Fern guessed she was making it out of thin air, anything was possible.

the flames that had filled the huge room once now had vanished. there was no smoke, no heat, no burning. it seemed like the water had literally consumed the fire, not just extinguish them. almost like water cancelled out fire, which of course it did but there was at least a little smoke or some burning left behind. now the room was back to its original self, apart from the fact that Fern had made a giant, towering twister made of water in the middle of it.

she had forgotten about the flames until now. a blazing flame shot across the middle of the twister, and another, and another. this wasn't like the fire before, consuming the room, clinging to the floor and walls in one mass of heat. they almost looked like cloaked figures set on fire, there were hundreds of them. Fern lost concentration and the twister exploded. the fiery figures screeched with terror and vanished with a sharp twist of air. she was concentrating so much on this blazing figures she forgot about the exploding twister that was now circulating around the roof and walls, covering every inch with a furious flow. Fern didnt know what to do, she was no longer in control. the room shook with power and all of a sudden the water came crashing in from every direction, swirling in twists and turns. The water crashed into Fern, pulling her under. Everything that had happened in the past half an hour flashed before her eyes. then she blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4: where both worlds meet

**Chapter 4  
**

**where both worlds meet**

Fern did not dare to open her eyes. the cold breeze swept across her, and a plague of goosebumps pickled up her arm. she was already cold and wet. was she dead? she didn't want to know. She wanted to lie there for ever and not have to find out. her heart started pumping. immediately she heard whispers, she knew she was being watched. where was she? how did she get there? who are those people? Fern lay there, trying not to shiver and answer all her questions at the same time. she wanted to be back at home, at school with her friends. she didn't give one thought to her mother. Fern tried to remember what had happened, she tried to figure out why she was lay, on what she thought could be stone, freezing cold and wet. suddenly, the mumbling started again but louder this time. silence.

there must have been at least a minute of silence, even though Fern felt like she had been awake for days living in darkness behind her eyelids. one piercing footstep rang in Fern's ear. then another. they were walking very slow but each footstep got a little louder until she could feel the person stood right next to her, feel the warmth of the person, hear the breathing, "Fern?".

she froze. she stopped shivering and hoped that her tensing muscles hadn't revealed the fact that she was awake. she heard them bend down and then felt the gentle, soft, warm breeze of their breathing. "it's alright, your safe Fern." he whispered in her ear. his voice was so kind and delicate. she heard him stand back up straight. "we won't hurt you, i promise". something about the way he said 'promise' made Fern feel safe. she knew now that she wasn't dead, or at least she didn't feel dead after the heat of the man trying to comfort her. she knew what she was to do, trust this man. she had a feeling like she already knew him somehow, a connection that ran further than appearance.

Fern opened her eyes. she jumped at the initial sound of a high-pitched, swooping whistle, almost like something was soaring in the air above her. the blinding white light caused her to yank her hand up too her eyes, immediately feeling the stabbing ache. with another swooping sound, slightly lower-pitched this time, the magical light, filled with hope dissipated and she was left in a room of darkness. silence. suddenly the familiar roar of fire bellowed off the walls of the room, echoing in Ferns ears. she let out scream and bolted into an up-right seated position. when she looked round the room, her heart pumping, she did not anticipate what she would see.

the fire had came from old-fashioned torches, all lighting up at once. each was supported on the wall with a rusty black holder. the walls were made of big, stone blocks and were not painted. there was no decor, no curtains. just four castle-like walls, a stained glass window and 8 torches up all the wall. Fern lay on a stone slab, a table. the room was not the interesting part, it was the people inside of the room that shocked Fern. she looked from person to person. they each wore a kind of cloak, mainly they were made of a velvet material. one had a very large nose, deep wrinkles and a small, gray beard. Another was cleanly shaved, not so many wrinkles but he wore a deeply sad frown. the rest looked mostly the same, grey stubble but not looking too old. they all held clack, sleek, leather suitcases, and wore black head to toe. her head pounded. who were these people?! she began to panic. why were they dressed like that? why was she in a castle?

"its alright, your going to be absolutely fine." the familiar voice whispered. she recognized the voice from minutes before, when she had first awoken.

"w-where am i?" Fern said in a croaky voice. she coughed in response to this. it took a long time for him to answer. Fern thought he must of been thinking of what to say. she instantly thought that his was going to be bad news. she looked at the people stood in a circle around her. they reminded her of something, but she couldn't think. they all looked like they were on business, even dressed in those stupid cloaks, Fern thought. she wanted to ask who they were, but she thought best to keep it to one question at a time. they were all men, apart from one. they all wore black, trench coat-cloak garments, apart from one. in fact they all looked very sinister and snotty apart from one. the odd one out was a thin girl... bright, burning ginger hair and a kind face. she wore a white vest top and light blue jeans. she looked so normal, so... so, like Fern.

"your in the safest place out of both of our worlds." said the same man relaxed. he also was sporting jeans, but was wearing a green t-shirt and a blue hoodie. Fern was confused. what did he mean by 'both of your worlds'? what did he mean? and what made this place so safe? to her it seemed like a rotting old castle that would probably fall down any minute. she stared at the man's kind and very normal face blankly. the confusion must have been translated.

"fern, i am very much like you. i grew up as a muggle and i was raised by muggle parents." he stopped to see if Fern was keeping up.

"w-what's a muggle?" Fern asked timidly.

"i didn't realize it was this bad," he gave her a compassionate smile, "muggles are... non magical folk." he smiled recognizing the words. he looked over to the shocked Fern. he really didn't know she would know nothing.

"non _magical _folk?! what do you mean by _magical?_ who are you people?!" she was starting to get frustrated. she had woke up in a old castle, surrounded by creepy men dressed in black cloaks and now she was being told there was such thing as magic.

"well, erm... you may not believe it, but there is such thing as magic. you are in the magical world. you are a witch"

"who? me?! wait, wait, wait._?_" she was getting really confused. she didn't believe a word this man was saying and now he was involving her parents. she didnt know her dad, her mother said that he left her when she was pregnant.

"no, i'm afraid not. i-i don't want to confuse you Fern. but i will try to explain as well as i can." he said as softly as he could.

this made no difference. Fern was getting angry, why she was still sat there, wherever she was, she didn't know. something about this man made her listen, "well you better be quick. five minutes and i'm out of here. _magical _world or not."

He waited a couple of minutes for her to sit down, then he began, "you may find this hard to believe, and you may not. this is going to be a lot to take in, but it's well overdue. you are in Hogwarts. One of the magical schools where young witches and wizards learn how to preform magic, and much more. you are a witch. we are not sure who your parents were, but they were definately magical."

"Hogwarts is a school? and does this mean i am going to school here? what about my mum?

"yes it's a magical school. its your decision if you want to go here. we would be delighted to teach such a powerful witch as yourself."

"im not saying i believe you, but if i was a _witch_, how would you know that my mother and father were magical? do your parents have to be magical to create a witch? because i'm pretty sure that my mother isn't a witch. i'm not sure about my fa-"

"Fern, i don't think you understand what i'm saying. you do not have to have magical parents to create a magical son or daughter. but Fern, y-you are adopted."

to this Fern sat in shock, adopted. no... her mother was Lynda. "no, you must be mistaken. i'm not adopted. my mother is Lynda. my father ran away before i was born. and how do you know that i'm magical?"

"Fern, Lynda is not your real mother. we are not certain who your parents were, but we know that they died. Lynda took you in when you were just one day old," he looked over to fern, who was now on the brink of crying.

choaking down the lump in her throat, she asked, "Lynda isn't my real mother?" she felt hollow. she watched as he shook his head and a wave of dread filled her body. Fern started to convince herslef that this was a lie, she always convinced herself. then it all came flooding back. the whole day. her feeling uneasy about her mother, washing her face and feeling better, her mother's scar, her walk to school, the fire, the water, the fiery figures. everything. she began to sob. she looked up at the looked at her, almost like he already knew her. Fern managed to croak out a few more questions, "wait. how do you know about Lynda? how do you know she's not magical? how do you know about me being magical? do you know about what happened at school? why did that happen? whats happening to me?"

he looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Fern, you are a witch. so were your parents. they died when you were only a day old. Lynda took you in. we know she isn't magical because when we investigated your house, there was a protection spell. the spell was too powerful for a normal witch. she has been working with someone much more powerful than her. we also searched the house for a present wand. there was not one. we also know that _you _are way too powerful than to be made by a muggle. and your parents must be very good, because you are even more powerful than most young witches and wizards that are made by magical parents. Fern you are very powerful and the reason you have not been able to use your powers until now is because a curse, also too powerful for a normal witch, was placed on you that fateful day and made it so that you would choose your fate on your fifteenth birthday. which was yesterday."

Fern sat in silence, trying to take it all in. and strangely enough, she believed him. "so... i'm a witch, and i'm in a school for magic. my mother and father were very powerful. They died and Lynda took me in. so what happened at my school?" she was becoming less and less upset with every word and strangely, she already felt at home. she had had an uneasy feeling about her mother, and this was why.

"what happened in your school was your decision." he said, and the words seemed to ring in the room.

"i-i chose what?"

"which element you belong too." Fern was stunned.

"i-i don't understand."

"the magical world has seen a new kind of magic. it involves the four elements. fire, wind, air and water. you can only belong to one of those elements. most people do not get to choose, but there are usually signs. eye colour, hobbies, favourite colours exetera. order between good and evil had been balanced before this new power, and good had won. now, there is a new kind of evil. this new evil is run by fear, and his shaddow hunters. he belongs to fire, but his hunters can belong to any element. the good people also belong to an element, usually water as it is the most powerful, but they can belong to the other two elements, also. originals, like myslef can belong any element and can choose to be good or bad. i am earth. i may not be as powerful, but earth wizards are very rare."

"okay, so, so what am i?" fern asked.

"you, are water. i am guessing you are not surprised after what happened yesterday? we are not sure why the room was set on fire, but we are continuing our research." Fern decided to keep the fiery figures a secret, she was worried what that meant. she was fire. in a way she wasn't shocked at all after what had happened at her school.

"okay, so i am a witch... a water witch and i am at hogwarts. my parents were very powerful. what elements were they?"

"well one of them had to be water. you inherit your element from one of you parents, unless your an original, which you get all elements. waters are very intelligent, and versatile."

Fern smiled. he took this as a sign that she had took it all in, maybe even felt comfortable. he knew it would be a slow process, and there were going to be lots of questions asked. he still didn't know everything. he caught her looking around the room, and realised...

"im very sorry, i haven't introduced anyone, have i?" he paused and looked around the room. "these gentlemen are from the ministry." they took one hand from their black leather suitcases and lifted their hands. i did not respond, confused by the tern 'ministry'. instead, i looked back to the man. he then gestured towards the normal-looking girl, "this is ginny."

"hello it's nice to meet you... fern? isn't it?" she stuck out her hand and as i nodded, shook it.

he gave me a dazzling smile and said, "and i'm Harry potter."


	5. Chapter 5: the element of surprise

**chapter 5**

**the element of surprise  
**

A short, plump woman came barging through the door, looking flustered and rushed. She beamed a smile in the direction of fern, and cocked her head to the side slightly to give the impression of friendliness.

"ah, professor Grubbly-plank! your here!" Harry said with a hint of delightful surprise.

"yes, i'm awfully sorry i'm late, the start of term is coming up so i'm very busy. plus there was an apparent sighting of a Spinx on school grounds." she looked back over to fern after standing next to harry potter, near the stone table Fern was sat upon. "i'm Professor Grubly-plank, Head mistress of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. it's nice to meet you Fern, finally."

"thank you professor." Fern shook her soft hand, and smiled.

Harry and Professor Grubly-plank had a deep conversation, mumbling between themselves. just at that moment, Fern realized that the men from the ministry had vanished. suddenly the professor started talking to Fern, which made her jump.

"would you be so kind to come to my office and i will be able to make everything much more clearly. Harry here has done a great job, and you may just see him around school. he is our defense against the dark arts teacher, Professor Potter. follow me."

"You can just call me harry, not in class, but other wise im just harry." he winked and nodded his head, then gestured to go before him out of the room. i smiled and stepped out of the room into a large, stone corridor.

Professor Grubly-plank did not turn around, but moved swiftly through the great stone corridors of Hogwarts. Although Fern expected it to be cold with no radiators or heaters around, she felt a warmth all around her. she wondered if it was magic. probably. the swift twists and turns around the school made Fern feel disorientated. the castle was very old, the windows were all secured with lead, and the walls were all mossy stone. it was very light inside, the windows allowed the sunlight blaze into the corridors and make it a lot more pretty. there were many sets of stone steps, up and down and up and down.

Fern knew she was in the world of magic, but she still got a shock when a transparent, white ghost came floating around the corner. she nearly screamed, and Harry must have noticed that she had gotten a shock.

"it's okay, its just . he's friendly. he is the ghost of Griffindor, my former house."

feeling better that she wasn't going to be attacked by a Ghost, she watched it and he said hello. "students get put into houses?"

"yes, there are four. Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slitherin. i shouldn't say this, but you don't want to be in slytherin." Professor Grubly-plank was oblivious of their conversation and continued to lead them too their next destination.

"i see. does your element effect which house you are put into?"

"yes, and no. there is a main one for every house, but it doesn't necessarily mean you will definitely be in a house because of your element. lots of things are taken into account before you are placed into a house. Many people from Griffindor are earth. hufflepuff is air, ravenclaw is water and slitherin if Fire."

"so does that mean i am most likely going to be in Ravenclaw?"

"well, we don't know. see, you are an exception. most people are born with their element, but because you were born in the muggle world and were cursed to decide on your 15th birthday, we don't know what your powers are. many people that come to Hogwarts are born in the muggle world, but Hogwarts gets in touch with their parents at a young age, to see what element they will be."

"but prof- harry, i didn't chose my element, water just came out of my hands, i didn't chose that."

"we think that someone wanted you to choose fire, so they surrounded you with fire. you were afraid and so chose water. you didn't really need to chose it because you were destined to be water after how your parents died, in a fire." fern did not say anything back. "but if i am honest, we don't know if you have chosen yet. we have never seen this. you could have all elements for all we know. but we are about to find out."

"what do you mean?"

"we're going to test your powers to see which you can use. don't worry it's nothing. we just use a little bit of magic too see what elements you possess." through the whole conversation, Professor Grubly-plank continued to stride ahead. now she was stopped in front of a large stone statue.

"now Fern, we are going to take you into my office. i am guessing Professor Potter has explained everything, am i correct?" Fern nodded and the headmistress turned around, facing the stone statue. Fern wasn't sure what it was, but it looked like a big half bird, half horse. she grumbled something and immediately the sound of stone grinding together pounded in the corridor. the statue moved aside and showed a magnificent set of stone steps. Professor Grubly-Plank stepped onto them, and they moved up in a spiral motion. harry and Fern were a few steps behind.

when the steps stopped twisting, they came up to a big wooden door. Professor Grubly-plank opened it with no effort at all and stepped into the room. Fern and Harry followed. Fern was gobsmacked. the room had an extremely high ceiling, almost until it grew out of sight. the walls were covered with paintings of mature and wise-looking men and women, although the majority were men. the room was scattered with high piles of yellow paper. the floor was stone but almost seemed like it was meant to be a design feature. the huge stain glassed window at the back let the light sine through in all sorts of different colours, it was so bright she could not make out what it was meant to resemble. she was over whelmed. the moving staircase, and now this gorgeously magical room.

"fern, this is my office. you are welcome to come here any time you like with any concerns or information you would like to tell me, if you do choose to attend Hogwarts. now, shall we get on with today's proceedings?" without an answer, she moved swiftly over to a cabinet.

it was made of a beautiful wood, with solid glass windows to showcase what was inside. there was another compartment below the windows that almost looked like a rounded drawer. the headmistress inserted a tiny key in between the panes of glass and the door magically opened. inside were hundreds of viles, all containing a swirling liquid. the second compartment opened up, the drawer under the panes of glass. it swung to the right and out came a round basin. even this was beautiful.

"what we are going to do, is ask you to drop a small amount of your blood into a vile. then you will pour it into this basin and what you will see is the elements you posses. it could be as little as one, but you may also have a maximum of four. Fire,earth, air and water. i must warn you. what you see may be disturbing, and it may not be obvious what it is telling you." she took a vile from the cabinet and handed it over to Fern. Fern noticed that it was slightly warm, and the clear liquid seemed like it would be nice to drink on a winter night. "just take this, and prick your finger." she brandished an elaborate quill, or what Fern thought was a quill, and handed it over to Fern. "then place a drop of your blood into the vile, pour it in the basin, then put your head under. what you see will tell you what element, or elements, you belong too. good luck."

Fern looked between Harry and Professor Grubly-plank. Harry gave her a smile, and she willed herself to do it. she took the quill and studied the end. it looked like a quill, but it was actually a sharp pin attached to the end of a feather. she carefully pricked her index finger with it and let the rich, ruby red blood drop fall into the vile. the clear liquid in the vile instantly turned bright red. Fern nervously walked over to the extended basin. she poured the syrupy liquid into the basin and it seemed to swirl around, filling it.

Fern was nervous. what if this was one big mistake, what if she had to go back to her mother, well Lynda, after all of this? what if she didn't belong to an element? what if she wasn't powerful like they expected her to be? despite all of her worries, she decided to get it over and done with. she bend over and took a deep breath. her nose touched the refreshingly cold water. she entered the rest of her head...

everything was pitch black. she wondered if something had gone wrong. nothing was happening. just as she considered pulling her head of of the water, a light began to appear. a strong, white explosion of light came from the center of her vision. it grew and grew until almost all of what she could see what blank white. the image began to zoom out, and she noticed it was actually an eye, all white. the more it zoomed out, the more of the person's face she could see. it was all dark so she could not make out the features, but the outlines were visible. the person was cloaked, and it's bright, white eyes shone in the surrounding darkness. who was this?

the image zoomed out a little bit and more light poured into Fern's view. then she realized. bright red hair. small figure. black chucks. it was her. but why did she have white eyes? she had a feeling that she was about to find out. her view swept over to the side. there, stood directly opposite Fern, stood another of her, only a couple of meters away. she also had white eyes, the real Fern wondered what was going on. Fern watched as they both raised their left arm, palms facing each other. they stood looking at one another for a few seconds, Ferns heart started racing.

all of a sudden, The Fern on the left pulled her arm back, and fired a huge gust of air at the other Fern, screaming with effort. the other fern was blown back at least five meters and landed on the ground with a hard thump on the back. she got up, her whit eyes blazing. she repeated the movements Fern had just seen from the other white-eyed girl. at first she did not see any visible change. then, as sudden as the gust of air, the earth exploded under the opposite Fern's feet, sending her flying up into the air. she landed back down with another thump on the back.

Fern didn't like this, she was being forced to watch herself try to kill another of herself. it was so confusing. both of their bright white eyes blazed with fury, and they ran at each other, targets set. just before they collided, the fern with the element of wind crouched down and made a white, transparent shield in front of her. the other Fern crashed into it and was blown back. after landing flat on her face, Fern could see that see was getting angry. all of a sudden, rain started to pour on the fern possessing the power of air. Fern wondered what rain was going to do, until she saw what was actually happening.

there was an invisible box around the air fern, which was filling up with water. she banged upon this invisible box but failed to get out. the water was rising quickly, it was up to her waist. she struggled more and more. Fern thought that the one controlling the rain but have been water. she was wrong. the rain was coming from a cloud, which meant weather was being effected. this must have meant that the fern she was seeing killing the other was actually earth, she presumed. the water had risen to the top, there was no way for her to breathe. she watched herself drown to death as the other laughed. she began to sob, shouting for her to let her go. either the earth fern was ignoring her or couldn't heat her because she didn't even look up at her. she didn't want to watch anymore, she was done.

just before she pulled her head out of the water, she noticed that there was now only one fern stood there. the invisible walls had dissapeared, along with the drowned air fern. did this mean that she didn't have air? before she could think anymore, another fern entered the scene. this time, she had her hair tied up. Fern had a feeling she knew which element this was going to be. water. she was proved right after they repeated the hand to hand gesture, and a tidal wave came over the top of the new fern and took out the earth Fern.

Fern couldn't help thinking how quick that was, but she was glad it wasn't as gruesome as the last one. Fern had forgotten that there would be one more element. fire. she hated fire, and always would. she was so terrified at this moment in case fire won over water, what would she do? how would she cope? didn't harry say that they thought someone had tried to make her choose fire? the new fern walked on. they repeated the hand to hand gesture. Fern waited.

it seemed like much longer until anything happened. she was so scared, she felt sick. fire took the first shot. a fire ball flew to the water fern. she dodged it and instantly threw another one back, this time water. Fern guessed that this would do little physical harm, but may weaken the fire fern's powers. the fire fern blocked the water ball with a huge blast of fire. Fern's heart sank.

Fern watched the water fern. her eyes blazed, as the others had. she was so exited for what was coming next. the water fern's hands swirled around, water following where her hands went. she cast out her hands, and a huge tornado of water filled Fern's view. fern thought about what had happened at school. just as she thought that water fern would surely win, something changed. fire fern was dragged back, out of Fern's view. she watched as a hooded man came onto the scene. he cast out his hand and the tornado began to turn into fire. Fern began to panic. who was this? what was he doing in her vision to see what element she was. then it came to her. _"someone tried to make you choose fire". _Now Fern understood. if this man killed water fern, then fire would win.

The tornado exploded with fire, blasting water Fern backwards. Fern pulled her head out of the water before she saw anything else. her head came bursting out of the liquid, and both Harry and Professor Grubly-plank jumped.

"Fern! you scared us! i sure hope you don't belong to the element of surprise!" both her and harry laughed. "dear, you've been gone for over an hour, you look terrible. what happened?" she brought Fern a towel.

wrapping the fluffy towel around her shaking body, Fern said, "i could belong to the element of surprise after what just happened."

the headmistress jumped up and down, "does that mean you belong to all of them?!"

"no, that means that a hooded figure entered my vision, and now i don't know what element i am. surprise?"


End file.
